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BURNOUT IN COUNSELLING
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At the end of this presentation, we should be
able to:
Define stress.
List out the basic types of stressor.
Enumerate the characteristics of stress.
Describe the causes of stress.
Explain factors that affecting response to
stress.
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Define burnout.
Explain the differences between stress and burnout.
List out the stages of burnout.
Explain the causes of counselor burnout.
Describe the signs and symptoms of burnout.
Explain the prevention strategies to avoid burnout.
Describe burnout coping strategies.

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Stress is the bodys reaction to a change
that requires a physical, mental or
emotional adjustment or response.
(adapted from About.com by Angela
Morrow, RN)

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Changes which can cause stress can come both in
internal and external environment.
Internal environment can be considered as a
person negative internal perceptions about a
situation which can leads a person to has negative
feelings and eventually cause a person to feel
stress.
External environment is like increase in the
workloads.
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Eustress : positive
stress
Distress : negative
stress

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Stressors are any factors that can cause a person to feel
stress.
Eustress is a pleasant, curative and motivational stressor.
Distress is an unpleasant stressor which can leads a
person to have negative emotions.
What may be a eustress for one person maybe a distress
to another.
Example: stress seeker may find extreme activities a
eustress but others may find it a distress.
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Hyperstress
(overstress)
Hypostress
(understress)
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Hyperstress is a state when the stress has extended the
limits of adaptability in which a person has.
Hyperstress is when you feel you are overloaded with
stress.
Hypostress is a state when a person suffers from lack of
self realization. Self realization is our own realization or
fulfillment of our own potential or abilities.
Example: boredom.
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This chart illustrates the relationship between the various
aspects of stress and burnout and the level of performance.
Boredom is the hypostress. Stimulated, effective and
optimum are the eustress. Overload, irritable and anxious are
hyperstress.
The higher level of eustress leads to high rate of
productivity.
But, we have to make sure the eustress that we are having
will not overloaded and turn to hyperstress which will leads
to burnout.
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PERSONAL
ISSUES
HEALTH
EMOTIONAL
PROBLEMS
RELATIONSHIP
MAJOR LIFE
CHANGES
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Health: being diagnosed with chronic or terminal illness by
the doctor.
Emotional problems: any negative emotions that a person
cannot express or any unfinished business. Example: anger
and depression.
Relationship problem: problems with current relationship
or feeling lack of friendship or support in life.
Major life changes: death of spouse/family
members/friends, losing job, getting married or moving to a
new place.
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SOCIAL AND
WORK ISSUES
SURROUNDING
SOCIAL
SITUATION
OOCUPATION
UNEMPLOYMENT
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Surrounding: live in an area where
overcrowding, crime, pollution or noise.
Social institution: being poor, feels lonely or
facing discrimination based on race, gender, age,
etc.
Occupation: being unhappy with job or finding
your current job is too demanding for you.
Unemployment: losing your current job or not
being able to find a suitable job.
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Personality traits
Environment
Magnitude of stressor
Perception of situation
Self perceived ability to handle stressor
Previous pattern in dealing with stressor
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Personality traits: a neurotic person may get stressed easily
and will turn to have a dangerous behavior. A calmer person
will reacts to stress calmly compared to a neurotic person.
Environment: the support or help available for you to cope
with the stress. People who have great support from family
members and friends reacts more calm to stress.
Magnitude of stressors: the quality and severity of the
stressors. An individual with high intensity of stressors may
be more panic in coping with stressor compared to the one
with low intensity of stressor.
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Perceptions of situation: how we perceived our current
situation plays major role in reaction to stress. If we perceived
it as positive, our reaction to stress will be positive as well.
Self-perceived ability in handle stress: if we believe that we
can cope with stress, definitely the reaction would be calm and
positive.
Previous pattern in dealing with stress: previous experience
in handling stress is important when we face new stress. If
reaction in the previous stress event was calm and steady, our
reaction towards new stress event would probably be the same
as well.
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Burnout is the depletion of physical and
mental resources characterized by a loss
of motivation, enthusiasm, energy and
interests, as well as a significantly lower
level of performance. (Kyriacou & Sutcliff,
1978).
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Burnout is also known as nervous breakdown.
In other words, burnout is a state of emotional,
mental and physical exhaustion by excessive and
prolonged stress (hyperstress).
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STRESS HYPERSTRESS BURNOUT
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Exposure to stress in a long period of time without
effective stress management can cause an
individual to feel overloaded with stress.
Once he/she feels overloaded, then finally they
will become exhausted from the stress and it cause
burnout.
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STRESS BURNOUT
Characterized by over engagement Characterized by disengagement
Overactive emotions Blunted emotions
Produces urgency and hyperactivities Produces helplessness and
hopelessness
Loss of energy Loss of motivation, ideas and hope
Leads to anxiety disorders Leads to detachment and depression
Primary damage : physical Primary damage: emotional
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Engagement: counselors who are positively attached not only
to the clients but everything concerning to their occupation.
Over engagement: a state when counselors are overly attached
to the work in a negative way. Example: willingly to sacrifice
time with family, friends and health for the sake of the work
and having unclear boundaries between work and personal life.
Disengagement: freedom from obligation. Where counselors
do not have emotional commitment to their work or the
workplace.
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Overactive emotions: involuntary and usually overly
intense reaction to an external emotional stimulus , which
often leads to feeling victimized by the emotions.
Blunted emotions: a state when people feel that they have
no more emotions whether positive or negative.
Produces urgency and hyperactivity: stress will make us
work harder just for the sake to relieve the stress. A person
will feels rushed in completing the work that causes stress.
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Produces helplessness and hopelessness:
burnout makes us feel helpless and hopeless
because of the give up feeling that we felt
during burnout.
Loss of energy: physical exhaustion is due to
drained physical strength while rushing up to
complete the work just to relieved the stress.
Detachments: isolating own selves from the
world or other people.


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ALARM
REACTION
RESISTANCE EXHAUSTION
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1. Alarm reaction
Counselors start to mobilize their defense mechanism mainly is denial.
Counselors will fail to respond to early warning signs of burnout of not
being able to adapt to a new or continued stressors.
2. Resistance
Occurs when stressors in stage 1 continue to persists and increase in
intensity.
Counselors will start to divert their energies away from personal growth
and professional responsibilities directly toward managing the stress.
Clients will suffer the most because counselors begin to helpless and
powerless.
Counselors function at very low level both in professionally and
personally.
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3. Exhaustion
manifests when counselors failed to deal with
the first 2 stages effectively.
Counselors are now have high level of
cynicism, inflexibility, and withdrawal.
Counselors may also end up with illness most
probably cardiovascular diseases such as
hypertension and heart attack, depression and
possibly suicide.
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Excessive case loads
Unclear or overly demanding career
expectations
Lack of recognition or rewards for good
work
Too many difficult cases to attend to
Working too much without enough time for
relaxing and socializing


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Pessimist
Unattainable goals
Lack of close and supportive
relationship
Perfectionistic
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Pessimist: always expecting the worst or
something bad might happen to you.
Unattainable goal: when goals set are
difficult to achieved.
Perfectionistic: a person who is displeased
by anything that does not meet very high
standards.
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Physical
Tired and feeling drained all the time.
Feeling sick a lot.
Frequent headache, back pain and muscle
ache.
Change in appetite and sleep habit.
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Emotional
Sense of failure and self doubt.
Feel helpless, trapped and defeated.
Loss of motivation
Increase in cynical and negative outlook
Decreased satisfaction and sense of
accomplishment
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Behavioral
Withdrawing from responsibilities
Isolate from others
Procrastination
Use food, alcohol and drugs to cope.
Taking out frustration on others.
Skipping work or come late but leave early.
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Start the day with relaxing ritual.
Adopt healthy eating, sleeping and
exercising habits.
Set boundaries.
Take a daily break from your work.
Nourish inner creative side
Stress management
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Start the day with a relaxing ritual. Rather than
jumping out of bed as soon as you wake up, spend at
least fifteen minutes meditating, writing in your
journal, doing gentle stretches, or reading something
that inspires you.
Adopt healthy eating, exercising, and sleeping
habits. When you eat right, engage in regular
physical activity, and get plenty of rest, you have the
energy and resilience to deal with lifes hassles and
demands.
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Take a daily break from your work. Set a time daily
in your schedule to disconnect yourself physically and
mentally from work.
Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful
antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun
project, or resume a favorite hobby. Choose activities
that have nothing to do with work.
Set boundaries. Dont overextend yourself. Learn
how to say no to requests on your time. If you find
this difficult, remind yourself that saying no allows
you to say yes to the things that you truly want to
do.
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Take a break
Get support
Reevaluate goals and priorities
Acknowledge what have we lose
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Take a break. Cut back whatever commitments
and activities you can. Give yourself time to rest,
reflect, and heal.
Get support. Turn to your loved ones for support.
Simply sharing your feelings with another person
can relieve some of the burden.
Reevaluate goals and priorities. Take time to
think about your hopes, goals, and dreams

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Acknowledge what have we lose. Burnout makes us
do not recognize what we have lost during burnout.
All of these unrecognized loses will trapped our inner
energy. So, take some time to recognize all of the
loses and allow ourselves to grieves. Once we already
recognized all of the loses, the trapped energy will be
released and we now open ourselves for healing.
Examples of loss: loss of role/identity, loss of self-
esteem/self-worth and loss of joy.
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Stress reaction towards changes either in internal or
external environment.
Stress: Eustress and Distress.
Stress: Hyperstress and Hypostress.
Burnout - excessive levels of hyperstress and results in
exhaustion or hypostress.
Burnout: Alarm Reaction, Resistance and Exhaustion.
Once, we are aware that we are stressed, we should use
effective stress management techniques to enusre it will not
become overwhelmed which will lead to hyperstress and
eventually burnout.
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1. Smith, M., Segal, J. & Segal, R. (June 13, 2013). Preventing
burnout, signs, symptoms, causes, and coping strategies.
Retrieved July 12, 2013, from
2. Bennet, S.M. (2007). Counselor Burnout. Retrieved July 12,
2013, from
3. Stress Management Causes of Stress. (April 20, 2011).
Retrieved July, 12 2013, from
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4. What Is Burnout? (2013). Retrieved July 12, 2013, from
5. Smith, M., Jaffe-Gill, E., & Segal, J. (2008). Preventing
Burnout: Signs symptoms, causes, and coping strategies.
Retrieved July 12, 2013, from
6. Scott, E. Stress and Burnout: Burnout symptoms and causes.
(January 3, 2012). Retrieved July 12, 2013, from
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7. Peterson, J., V. & Nisenholz, B. (1999). Orientation to
Counseling: Stress Management and the Prevention of
Burnout. 4
th
Edition. Massachusetts. Allyn &Bacon.
8. Potter, B. ( 2013). The Differences Between Burnout and
Stress. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from
9. Avoiding burnout, maintaining a healthy, successful career.
(2013). Retrieved from July 12, 2013, from
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10. Burnout Self - Test. ( 2013). Retrieved July 12, 2013,
from
11. Stress assessment : Rate your stress level. (June 18,
2010). Retrieved July 12, 2013, from
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1. Define BURNOUT.
2. From your own understanding, what are the
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STRESS
AND BURNOUT?
3. What are the CAUSES OF BURNOUT?
4. List out all the STAGES OF BURNOUT.
5. Enumerate the TYPES OF STRESSOR.
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THANK YOU